Google’s vice-president for search products and user experience is Melissa Mayer, a champion of innovation. She personally approves every new hire for the products group at the 6,000-employees company. She also picks the Google Associates, who are hired right out of college and trained internally.

She has built a wonderful list called “The Nine Notions of Innovation.”
These are great ideas for any organization aspiring to innovation.

1. Ideas come from everywhere.
   Google expects EVERYONE to innovate, even the finance team.
   
   
2. Share everything you can.
   Every idea, every project, every deadline – it’s all accessible to everyone in the Intranet.
   
   
3. You’re brilliant, we’re hiring.
   Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin approve hires. They favor intelligence over experience.
   
   
4. A license to pursue dreams.
   Employees get a “free” day a week. Half of new launches come from this “20% time.”
   
   
5. Innovation, not instant perfection.
   Google launches early and often in small beta tests, before releasing new features widely.
   
   
6. Don’t politic, use data.
   Mayer discourages the use of “I like” in meetings, pushing staffers to use metrics.
   
   
7. Creativity loves restraint.
   Give people a vision, rules about how to get there, and deadlines.
   
   
8. Worry about usage and users, not money.
   Provide something simple to use and easy to love. The money will follow.
   
   
9. Don’t kill projects -- morph them.
   There’s always a kernel of something good that can be salvaged.

As offered in a slide show at www.businessweek.com, June 19, 2006.